


Delicate in Blue

by SmileAndWave (Tammy_grateful)



Series: Gus and Alice [1]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: EFA Fic Live 4, Prompt: Blue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:55:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24281677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tammy_grateful/pseuds/SmileAndWave
Summary: Wynonna has a plan. She isn't stupid. She hopes Gus can help.Or-What happened once Alice was whisked away by Perry in that helicopter?
Relationships: Gus McCready & Alice Michelle
Series: Gus and Alice [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873162
Comments: 9
Kudos: 25





	Delicate in Blue

**Author's Note:**

> A while back a guest EFA author gave a prompt to write a story of Gus and Baby Alice. I started writing this then got stuck. So I throw this out there to let you decide!

A gently used white Toyota Tacoma with a red stripe along the side pulled up in front of a cute cabin-style two bedroom house. Out stepped a short, slender, curly haired woman with a weathered face. There’s more gray than brown in her hair, but her steps are as sure footed as they were 20 years ago. A floppy hat shaded her face from the summer sun.

From the bed of the truck she grabbed a string of fish. She then walked to her house along a path lined with flowers. Once inside, she set the fish in the sink, grabbed her filet knife and began gutting them. 

“Well Curtis, you’re missing out on one hell of a fishin’ hole.” She reminisces back on past adventures with her late husband. “I can just hear it now. ‘Gus, do you remember the trout I nearly landed back in ‘78? It had to have been 28 inches!’ For a while that near catch grew an inch a year!” Gus smiled fondly at the memory. 

Once the fish were cleaned, she placed one in the fridge with plans to have it for dinner, and two more in the freezer for a rainy day. “I might pan fry this one tonight. They’re good eatin’ size. What I wouldn’t give to have some cucumber tomato salad with tomatoes from your garden, Curtis.” She sighed, then headed to the living room. She picked up the local newspaper, grateful the news dealt more with celebrating the local high school baseball win rather than a mysterious disappearance of a herd of cattle.

The phone rang. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID. The name Wynonna showed on the screen. She rolled her eyes and hit accept. “Hello?” She said shortly. 

“Hey, Gus! Long time no talk,” Wynonna said with an attempt at a light greeting. 

“My end of the phone seems to be working fine. What do you need, Wynonna?” Gus got right to the point.

“What? I can’t just call my favorite Aunt and say hello?”

“Wynonna, you were gone for years without so much as a postcard. You came home bringin’ all kinds of trouble to the family. No, you need something. What is it this time? The check I gave you run out and you need more?”

“Ouch. I’m fine and flush with cash, Gus. I’m employed, or don’t you remember? You know, hunting those non-existent demons that live here in Purgatory.” If Gus wanted a fight, Wynonna would give her one.

Gus took a calming breath. “So how are things, then?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Gus sat up at the edge of her chair, surprised at the news. “Did you forget your birth control meds? We worked hard to make sure you always had them growing up.”

“Yes! I’m reckless, not stupid.” Wynonna paused for a beat or two. “The universe thought it would be hilarious if I became pregnant despite being on two birth control drugs.”

“Well, then. Ain’t this a kick in the head?” Gus huffed out a harsh chuckle. 

“I can’t keep it. It is too late to have a safe abortion, but the Earp Curse would end this baby the second it was born.” Wynonna sounded small, vulnerable at the admission.

“Well, what do you plan to do with it, then? You could move up here. The winter is shit but this month is quite nice,” Gus suggested. 

“I can’t leave. Not with demons still roaming free. I won’t put my baby through the childhood I had. I have to end this curse so they won’t have to.” Wynonna explained quickly. 

Gus slowly sank back into the chair as the realization hit her. “You want me to take it, don’t ya?”

“You’re the only one I trust. I can give you back all the money, well what’s left of it, but I need it to be safe. Please, Gus?” Wynonna begged. 

“I don’t know nothin’ about raisin’ a baby! I’m old! How am I supposed to care for it? I have barely held a baby! I think you’re askin’ the wrong person, Wynonna.” Gus wanted to help, but this was outrageous. A baby! No. 

“Please, Gus. I know you are the only one I can trust with this.” Wynonna’s voice sounded small and broken, like the day her and Waverly came to live with Curtis and her after the attack at the homestead. That Wynonna, the vulnerable broken child, she was the one that melted Gus. She sighed, then said, “So how is this all gonna happen?”  


___________________

For all Wynonna was irresponsible and selfish, she was fierce and protective, and had set up a damn good plan. Over the next month, supplies arrived at Gus’ home. A mega box of diapers, 252 to be exact. The box said it would last a month. _Good to know,_ Gus thought. Cans of formula, bottles, blankets, and clothes that looked fit for a doll not a human. A crib, a stroller that had a car seat attachment, and crazy shaped pillows took over the guest room. “Not the guest I was expecting, that is for sure.” She thought aloud. 

In the living room, Gus had just finished assembling a “pack ’n play”. She was fairly intuitive, and even with following the directions, it still took her forever. “I will think long and hard before I pack that thing back up!” she grumbled.

Gus had picked up a couple books from the library. _What to expect the First Year. Raising a baby for Dummies._ Seemed like a good place to start. They gave her at least some clue on what to expect with this unexpected addition to her life. One book had what Gus dubbed “disease of the week” sections scattered throughout. “Good lord. As many things that can go wrong with infants it is a wonder it goes right as much as it does!” 

Curtis and Gus tried to have kids. “It’d be good to have extra hands around the ranch,” Curtis would say. Both thought it would be wonderful to see a mini Gus or Curtis around the ranch. It didn’t happen right away, of course. When they finally got pregnant, they were ecstatic. One month later, Gus miscarried. Not to say they didn’t try again, because they did, with the same result. The third miscarriage ended their hopes of a baby. Both were devastated by this. You may think miscarriage would be not that big a deal, but that feeling of life growing inside you only to have it end hurts as bad as losing a loved one. They loved the child. And they grieved the loss until it was impossible to hurt. 

Experience with children, that she could do. Raising Waverly was one thing she was proud of. She was one smart cookie, and had really come into her own as of late, thanks to Nicole. Wynonna… well, Gus could have been more supportive. It was hard when Wynonna kept upsetting Waverly unnecessarily with stories of demons. Then again, had her and Curtis believed Wynonna, she might be in a better place mentally today. 

Back in the guest room - the baby’s room - Gus walked over to the crib. Laying next to the crib was a box, which Gus picked up and looked at. “Musical Mobile. Easy to install. Well, might as well get to it.”

Within 5 minutes, Gus had the mobile up and installed. She cranked the start, and Brahm’s Lullaby played. She walked around the room. She was satisfied that every thing was in order. All that was missing was the baby.

As if on cue, the phone rang. The number was that of a burner phone Wynonna supplied for The Plan. “Hello?”

“Good morning, ma’am. I was told to inform you to expect a delivery of the finest Canadian Whiskey within the next 12 hours.”

“I swear Nicole I will hunt you down and give you a hurtin’ if you ‘ma’am’ me again.” Gus said with irritation.

“Right.” You could practically feel Nicole grit her teeth at the mistake she can’t seem to ever correct. “Gus. Do you have everything you need?”

“I do. Everything set on that end?” Gus inquired. The secrecy Wynonna insisted on was trying at best. She had legitimate concerns, fearing the Revenants would have someone with enough smarts to be able to track her child’s movements.

“Everything is moving along as planned,” was all Nicole could share.

“Well, then, I look forward to the arrival of some superior Whiskey.”

Nicole paused, then added “Thank you for this, Gus. You are doing a good thing here.”

“You just make sure the Whiskey arrives safe and sound.” With that, Gus ended the call.

_______________________

Eight hours later, the calvary arrived. 2 black SUVs pulled up, 6 armed guards surrounded the cabin. One trampled some flowers. “Watch it! Flowers don’t just pop up overnight!” 

“All clear!” echoed all the soldiers surrounding the cabin. Out of one of the SUVs stepped Perry Crofte, millionaire, financial whiz, and a Purgatory success story. He was followed by a woman carrying a bundle, a blue blanket wrapped around something too small to be human. 

“Good to see you, Gus!” Perry walked over to where Gus was standing and gave her an unsolicited hug, which she begrudgingly tolerated. “Gus McCready, I want to introduce you to Sarah Cooper.”

“Nice to meet you, Gus.” She extended one hand, and Gus shook it with trepidation. This was as close to an infant she had been since she had no idea when. 

Gus looked anxiously at the blue bundle. “Pleasure to meet ‘cha. Let's all go inside before someone catches a cold.” Under her breath, she grumbled “Lord knows I don’t need that right now.”

Once inside, Gus addressed Perry. “What’s with the calvary? Expecting someone?”

Perry chuckled. “Better to be safe than sorry. I really appreciate what Wynonna did for me back in Purgatory. Anything I can do to make sure her child is safe, it still wouldn’t be enough. Speaking of which,” he turned toward Sarah.

Sarah unswaddled the baby. She looked to the older woman and said, “Gus, I’d like you to meet someone. This is Alice Michelle.”

Gus hesitantly stepped forward then slowly reached for the bundle. “There you go, little one.” Sarah said quietly to Alice.

Gus didn’t want to like Alice. She wanted to be indifferent to her. She was doing this out of duty to family. She took in Waverly and Wynonna out of duty. She was unqualified to care for an infant, for christsake! But then she looked down at this tiny human barely filling her arms. Gus was shocked at the feelings that flooded her system. In one moment she went from being inconvenienced to overwhelmed with love. The unreal size of her nose, eyebrows, and chin captured Gus’ heart. She knew she would die for this tiny bean. “Hey there, Alice Michelle. I’m Gus. Looks like you and I are going to be living together.” Alice cooed, opened her eyes, and looked in Gus’ direction.

Gus walked over to her chair and sat down, not trusting her legs to hold her up. _Lord it is so small. And the smell?_ Gus had never smelled anything so intoxicating.

Gus remembered there were others present in her living room. “What kinda host am I? I haven’t offered a drink. I’m gonna impose and ask you to help yourself.” She pointed to the kitchen, a pitcher of lemonade at the ready. If it was one thing Gus had in spades, it was hospitality. She made a lifetime of serving others. It was why she took in Wynonna and Waverly.

Gus stared at Alice. Without looking away, she asked, “Is Wynonna OK?”

"There were no complications, and I spoke to her briefly. She sounded tired, but well.” Perry offered.

Gus nodded in understanding. She hadn’t been able to tear her eyes away from Alice. “So what happens now?”

**Author's Note:**

> Well, should I continue? I was waiting until I completed the work, but kinda got stuck in the middle. Your thoughts and comments would be appreciated!


End file.
